It’s Important to Remember the Reason for Memorial Day

It’s an important distinction.

Veterans Day is not Memorial Day. Memorial Day is not Veterans Day. Neither are Armed Forces Day. Only one of the above may (or may not) be referred to as Victory in World War II or Victory in World War I Day.

Whew.

Here is what I know. Until 1971, Memorial Day – which until 1967 was still officially called Decoration Day – was celebrated on May 30. It began as a day to recognize those that died – on both sides of the conflict – during the Civil War, an estimated 2 percent of the total U.S. population. There is a particularly heartwarming, if perhaps anecdotal, story first published in 1868 surrounding its early origins. A young girl placed a wreath on the tomb of one of the Confederate dead, buried far from home. Her own father was buried in Andersonville, Georgia and her hope was that some child, living with the same pain in the South, might return the favor. Regardless of the origins, the holiday, officially established about the same time, was a focused and intentional step toward reunification. It was, and remains, an important moment when we, as Americans, gather together to honor those who died defending our very specific ideas and ideals.

Which is not the case with Veterans Day. Veterans Day is about honoring those that served. That certainly includes those that served and died, but also those that served and lived to tell the tale, those who carry, in very real terms, the living history of duty and sacrifice. We celebrate that in November. Armed Forces Day, which we just celebrated in Augusta by setting fire to the skies above Evans, recognizes all those currently serving in the armed forces. Victory in World War II or Victory in World War I Day, recently proclaimed by President Trump, celebrate United States victory in the two most significant wars of the 20^th century. Victory in World War I Day would replace Veterans Day. I’m a vote against that idea. It would be a return to the initial implications of Veterans Day – then called Armistice Day – but also seems to narrow the scope in a way that feels dismissive of the veterans of America’s other conflicts. Those vets I count as my contemporaries fought in the 1990s and feel very little connection to the French trenches.

What bothers me more, however, is the idea of celebration – particularly on Memorial Day. Please understand, I am as prone as any to see in the summer with a beer and a barbecue, but there is often something that nags a little about pool parties and lake days in that moment set aside to contemplate those who made the supreme sacrifice.

I’m certainly not here to preach, proclaim, or proselytized as to how my friends, neighbors, and countrymen should celebrate the final Monday of every May. They are free to do as they choose. After all, freedom is sort of what this is all about. I am not going to make any sweeping statements as to my plans for Memorial Day – this year or in the future. I do love a cookout. I recognize there is a certain element of hypocrisy there, but such is the nature of man. What I am proposing is this. Just as around Christmas we are encouraged to remember the reason for the season, I encourage all to take a few minutes – short but intentional – to spend some time in silent solitude thinking about those we have lost. Think about them and, more importantly, thank them. Thank them for service and sacrifice. Thank them for whatever emotion – be it commitment of fear – they may have felt in those final moments. Thank them, toast them and, most importantly, remember them.

It's the very least we can do.